Page 149 of Knights Game

“Fuck you.”

“Remember Layla—”

“Remember what?” I shout. “Is this when you threaten me, I could just walk away Levi, right fucking now. I could just turn my back on all of this. Damn the lot of you—.”

“You could, but you won’t. You love my cousin just as much as I do. And that love will destroy you.”

“Love won’t destroy me, and neither will you. So how about you shut your mouth for once and pass me the god damn scalpel.” My voice sounds strong, but inside I’m a quivering wreck. My nerves are shot to shit, today has been moving from one nightmare to another.

Thankfully he shuts up, letting me work.

Luca groans as I pull off the gauze and place the scalpel against his skin and cut through it like it’s nothing more than Play-Doh. I need to work quickly.

Of course I haven’t done this before; I’ve only ever read about these procedures.

Time passes at a creeping pace as I slowly stitch muscle tissue layer by painstaking layer. Levi remains quiet, watching me work, or checking his cousin’s pulse and saying the results out loud.

A little after two in the morning Fletcher arrives with supplies in a huge green paramedic bag and drops it onto one of thechairs haphazardly pushed to the side. He pushes Levi out the way and pulls out his own stethoscope and checks Luca’s vitals.

“He’s going to need a transfusion,” I say, watching as he unpacks items, neatly laying them within my reach. He starts to set up a cannula in the back of Luca’s hand.

“His breathing is rapid, blood pressure high.” Fletcher’s eyes meet mine. A look of concern passing between us.

“Once we get some fluids and blood in him, he should stabilise.” I’m not sure who I’m trying to reassure.

“Have you stopped the bleeding?”

“Yes. I’m just closing now. Levi is O neg so regardless of Luca’s he can donate.”

“Perfect,” Fletcher replies, and one thing’s for sure, he knows what he’s doing, he obviously has some sort of basic medical experience.

“Why is that perfect?” Levi asks from the chair he is now slouched in looking truly exhausted.

“O negative can be given to anyone, it’s the universal blood type.”

“He’s looking pale himself though. He can’t give much.”

“Just take what you need and get on with it,” he snaps, rolling up his sleeve.

“I got it,” Fletcher says. “Here,” he passes me a field kit so I can finish setting up the IV. The blood will move from Levi into a bag then into Luca.

“Did you get the antibiotics and fluid?”

“Yeah.”

I tie off the last stitch and inject the area with a numbing agent. This would have been useful an hour ago, but thankfully the wound is clean with no internal damage. I wipe it once more to ensure it’s clean and then cover it with gauze, rubbing the tape over his taught stomach muscles making sure it’s well secured.

His skin is cold and clammy.

“How are you doing over there?” I ask Levi.

But it’s Fletcher who answers. “I’ll take one pint. If Luca needs more, I’ll go to the hospital.”

“And what, steal some blood?” The bag is resting on the floor, gravity assisting with the process.

“Something like that.” He shrugs, heading out of the dining room.

Katy appears in the doorway. “What the hell is going on?”

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